Lars of Homeworld
by codbox
Summary: Set in the Homeworld Kindergarten after the end of "Lars' Head," Lars is still quite bewildered about his new form, and the Off Colors are just as confused as him as to what he's now capable of. But Lars and his newfound friends don't have time to stand around, for the powers-that-be of Homeworld have only just begun in their endeavor to shatter every Off Color alive...
1. Lars' Dilemma

"Feel any different, Lars?"

Lars and the Off Colors were huddled together in a small cavern, deep at the bottom of the Kindergarten of Homeworld. Lars didn't bother acknowledging any questions directed at him, for he was too busy staring at his bright pink hands. He was pondering whether he could rub the pinkness away, but promptly decided against it, believing he'd only succeed at bruising his wrist a little. The Off Colors were looking at the human in curiosity, wondering what he was pondering about.

"Ahem," Rhodonite said.

"Hmm?" Lars replied. "What's up?"

"How do you feel?"

"I…don't know. There's something about what he's done that's got me…spooked? Angry? Happy? I really have no idea what to think about this."

The Off Colors exchanged bewildered glances.

"Perhaps it's temporary," Fluorite said.

"No," Lars said, "I don't think this is going away anytime soon."

"What about your hair?" Rhodonite asked. "We can pull all sorts of things out of our gems, like weapons when we need to defend ourselves. Maybe you can do the same?"

"Your friend said it acts as some sort of pocket dimension now—so you could store all sorts of weaponry in there!" the Twins of Rutile said.

Lars rubbed his chin, pondering about what his newfound friends just said, took a look at his pink hand and flexed his fingers, then closed his eyes and thrusted his arm into his hair. His limb disappeared into the big pink tuft of follicles on the top of his head, and tried his best to feel around for a sword or any sort of weapon that might've been in there. But the odd position his arm was in was beginning to strain his muscles, and he quickly pulled it out of his hair. He didn't find anything, and Lars rubbed his temples and groaned in frustration.

"There's probably tons of things he's already put in there," Lars said, "but without him to help me, there's no way I can reach any of it."

The Off Colors exchanged bewildered glances once more; Rhodonite gave out a heavy sigh and held her head in all four of her hands.

"How unlucky can we be?" she asked. "An entire pocket dimension probably full of all sorts of things that could help us, and we can't even do anything with it! Ugh, why us!?"

"Everybody!"

Lars and the Off Colors glanced at Padparadscha, who was in the corner the entire time, starting at the featureless wall for what was probably hours.

"It seems Lars is quite confused about what his friend's done to him," she said.

"Yes, we know, Padparadscha," Rhodonite said, rolling her eyes. "He told us that already."

Fluorite and the Rutile twins giggled under their breath.

"Give it time, Lars," Fluorite said. "With each day you'll understand more."

"And sooner or later you'll be the one defending us—but it looks like we'll be the ones defending you for the time being," the twins said.

Rhodonite went up to Padparadscha and offered the little Gem one of her four hands. Of course, it took a while for her to realize what Rhodonite was doing, but Padparadscha took hold of her hand, and Rhodonite held the little Gem close.

"We've got to move for now," she said. "What you did back there was impressive, Lars, but sooner or later they'll notice none of their Robonoids have returned."

Lars sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Even when I'm trying to be good, I still end up doing something bad," Lars said. "So what do you think they'll do?"

"We don't think," Fluorite said, "we _know_."

"And what we know is they'll send actual soldiers down to find us in the Robonoids' stead," Rhodonite said, holding Padparadscha ever closer. "Normally we'd just have Quartzes like Jaspers and Amethysts to deal with, but since you and your friend apparently did something that angered the Diamonds…they're probably going to take their anger out on us by sending elite soldiers down instead."

"Unfortunately for us, Gem soldiers aren't mindless machines like the Robonoids—they won't be satisfied with simply shattering us and being done with it," the twins said.

"W-What do you mean?" Lars asked. "There're worse things than this 'shattering' stuff? Like… L-Like what?"

The Off Colors once again exchanged glances with each other, but this time they weren't of bewilderment. This time, they were of worry… This time, they were of fear, and regret, and horror. Fluorite closed her eyes and gave out a heavy sigh; the Rutile twins hugged each other as they both started to tremble; Rhodonite held Padparadscha even closer to her body, whereas the little Gem didn't even move—not because she was fearful, but because she hasn't predicted Lars asking such a harrowing question yet. And as for Lars, he looked at the Off Colors and how uncomfortable they were, and decided to refrain from asking such personal questions.

"S-Sorry," he said.

"I-It… I-It's all right," Rhodonite said. "We've got to keep moving before they catch up to us."

"I'll take the above path," Fluorite said, crawling out of the small space and up into a massive hole in the ceiling of the cavern. "Everybody else use the tunnel below."

The others watched as the giant, off-color fusion crawled into the huge hole, and soon Fluroite disappeared into the ceiling completely.

"Come on, Padparadscha," Rhodonite said.

"Guys, I think we should tell Lars they're going to send Gem soldiers after us instead of Robonoids now," Padparadscha uttered.

Rhodonite patted the little Gem on the top of her head.

"We already did, Padparadscha," she said. "We already did…"

And the two walked towards a small opening that was off to the side of the cavern and soon they also disappeared out of sight, leaving the pink-skinned Lars and the Twins of Rutile alone in the cramped space.

"Are you ready, Lars?—Lars, are you ready?" the twins asked.

Lars looked down at the dirty, lifeless ground, rubbing his pink arm and trembling with uncertainty. This trance of his didn't last for long, though, for the Gem twins quickly walked up him, went right into his face, and asked the boy in unison…

" _Are you ready or what?_ "

"Oh! U-Um," Lars quivered. "Y-Yeah. I guess so."

"You can't back out now—you've already come this far. We've been doing this for millennia, and we're still alive and kicking—if we can hold out for that long, we're sure you can, too."

"Well, yeah…but you two and your friends are these weird alien things with magic and multiple arms and such… Sure, I'm pink now, but I'm… I'm still just a human."

"Well, we may have supernatural power and extra limbs—but we're still off-colors…"

Lars looked long and hard at the two twins with a rather serious face…but couldn't hold the façade for long, and wound up breaking into a small bit of laughter. The twins looked at each other curiously, but they eventually started to giggle, too. And the strangest thing was neither of the three knew why they were laughing, despite the seriousness of the situation they're in. Perhaps it was to ease the tension? Or maybe they manage to at least find a sort of bright side to the problem they were stuck in? The answer might never be clear, but they trio eventually broke out of their peal of chuckles and giggles, and looked at the side of the cavern, where the entrance to the tunnel was located.

"Then it looks like we've got a reason to stick together, after all," Lars said.

Both twins of Rutile smiled at the pink-skinned human, and they both offered their hand to him.

"It's a labyrinth in there—you'll get lost without our help," they said. "Ready?—Prepared?"

Lars took in a deep breath.

"Yeah," he said confidently. "Let's go."


	2. Into the Depths

Lars and the Off Colors were trekking through the dark, dank tunnel that would lead them away from the Gem soldiers' impending onslaught. Rhodonite and Padparadscha were walking through the tunnel without a single hint of fear; the Twins of Rutile were right behind them looking around the area curiously; Lars, on the other hand, was lagging behind the Gems,

"U-Um, hey, guys?" Lars asked. "Could we pick up the pace a little bit?"

"You can never be too careful when in these tunnels, Lars—especially if you're an Off Color, for obvious reasons," the twins said.

"You never know what's lurking down in the pits of this massive Kindergarten," Rhodonite said. "I've went through this very tunnel thousands of times—literally, mind you—and I'm still nervous as to what's awaiting us at the end of it."

"You're nervous about everything, though," Lars retorted, snickering under his breath.

Rhodonite stopped in her tracks. Still holding Padparadscha by her tiny gloved hand, the fusion turned around, pushed through the Rutile twins, and looked the pink-skinned human straight in the eye.

"If you had to spend every day for the past five-thousand years cowering in fear, I guarantee you'd be nervous about everything, too," Rhodonite said.

She immediately covered her mouth in shock at what she just said to the little human. The twins looked away and didn't utter a single word. Padparadscha, as usual, was completely unaware and staring into space. And Lars backed away from Rhodonite, and started rubbing his forearm and muttering under his breath.

"I-I'm… I'm sorry," Rhodonite said. "Let's… Let's just keep going."

"Everyone!" Padparadscha blurted out. "I've just had a—"

Rhodonite put her hand over the little Gem's mouth.

"Whatever it is, we know," she said.

The fusion and the little Gem passed by the twins, and continued down the tunnel like nothing happened. The twins turned to Lars and simultaneously gave him a look of disgust.

"Watch your mouth," they said in unison.

And they continued down the tunnel, as well. Lars rubbed his forearm a little bit more, then decided feeling sorry for himself wouldn't solve anything, and gave out a sigh and continued walking through the tunnel.

For the Off Colors, the trek was like a walk through the park—even though they had no idea what parks even are—but for Lars, the trek felt like eons. His companions were quite confident in their sense of direction, so they didn't bother using their Gems to illuminate the way. Thus, Lars spent the entire trip through the tunnel in darkness. Even though he could see his friends in front of him just fine, there was still this feeling of dread and despair buried deep within the human's heart. The only thing was keeping that dread at bay with the thin veil of confidence and courage he mustered up after the ordeal with the Robonoids. That horribly flimsy veil was the only thing keeping Lars from freaking out about the ordeal he got himself caught up in, too.

No matter which way he looked at it, he was a human being trapped on a planet he didn't know a single thing about. What did it matter if he were pink and had a pocket dimension in his head? He didn't know what to do with it or if he even had any powers to begin with. The various outcomes of the ordeal he was in started to spiral and swirl in his head without any hint of stopping…but Lars snapped out of it when the twins of Rutile went up to him and said in unison…

"We're here."

Lars looked ahead and saw the exit to the tunnel, and as the twins jumped out of it without a hint of fear, Lars carefully climbed down the wall and jumped off from a safe level. As he dusted himself off from the grime and dirt that filled the dark tunnel, Lars took a look at his surroundings.

"It looks exactly the same as the place we just left," Lars said.

"Well, we're at the bottom of a Kindergarten—what did you expect?" the twins said. "It doesn't get any better for us down here than this—we've no choice but to work with what we've got."

"Which is?"

The twins gave each other a little smile and said…

"Each other."

But the twins' gentle moment ended abruptly when Rhodonite sprinted towards them and grabbed them by their conjoined waist. The four-armed fusion ran up to Lars and scooped him up as well, then ran towards Padparadscha and picked her up with little effort. Rhodonite then jumped on top of a large rock that was situated in the corner of the area, and dumped her four companions behind it. Rhodonite jumped down behind the rock with them, then peeked around the side of it, trembling all the while.

"W-What the heck what that about!?" Lars asked, the twins helping him get up from the floor.

"You'll get used to it—Rhodonite has a tendency to freak out like this whenever she senses danger," the twins said.

"Everybody!" Padparadscha blurted out, not bothering to get up on the floor. "I think Rhodonite's freaking out again!"

"And with good reason!" Rhodonite whispered, grabbing Padparadscha and covering her mouth with all four of her hands. "I think I heard someone…"

"What?—You think we were followed?"

"I-I never saw anybody behind me."

"Just because we weren't followed through the tunnel doesn't mean we weren't followed at all, Lars!"

"Well…maybe it was that big caterpillar thing? What was her name? Fluoride?"

"Fluorite—and no, that wasn't her. The sounds a Gem her size can make would've echoed all throughout the tunnels."

"Come to think of it…we never heard any sounds echoing while we were going through there, did we?—It was awfully quiet, considering the booms Fluorite would always make up above."

"Do you think anything happened to her?"

"She's a six-Gem fusion… I'd be surprised if they didn't choose her as their first target."

Rhodonite took another peek from the side of the rock to see if anybody was there. And that's when she saw what she initially heard. From a wall that was far in the back of the cavern they were in, Rhodonite saw a tiny shadow against the wall.

"G-Guys," Rhodonite said, "it looks like I was right… S-Someone's coming!"

"Let me see," Lars said, going up to the side of the rock to take a peek himself.

The pink-skinned human saw the tiny shadow that was being cast by the mysterious creature against the wall in the far-off side of the cavern. The more Lars squinted, the more the shadow became oddly…familiar to him. He could've sworn he saw the entity whom the shadow belonged to before, but he couldn't pinpoint why or how this could be possible. But his question was answered when the entity appeared in person, and the human's eyes widened when he realized who it was…

A tiny blue gem flying about with wings made of water.

"Aquamarine," Lars said, gritting his teeth.

"H-Huh?" Rhodonite asked. "H-How do you know what type of Gem she is?"

Lars vaulted himself over the massive rock and said…

"Because she's the reason I'm down here!"


	3. Water Droplet

Lars emerged from behind the large rock, and ran straight at Aquamarine and tackled her to the ground…well, he _would_ have done that, had Rhodonite not grabbed him with all four of her limbs and thrown him behind the rock again. The fusion glared at the human and seized him by the shoulders, and looked him in the eye like a scolding parent. Lars gritted his teeth and sneered at Rhodonite, and the twins and Padparadscha just looked at the scene in confusion.

"You've got to think before you act, Lars," Rhodonite said. "Robonoids are one thing…but you're mistaken if you seriously believe you've got a chance against an Aquamarine."

"I don't care," Lars said. "I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her! And besides, she's just a tiny blue thing with wings. How could I _not_ have a chance against that?"

"Never let their looks deceive you—even the tiniest of Gems can pack quite the ferocious punch," the twins said.

"And as for her apparently being the reason you're stuck here… What's done is done," Rhodonite said. "Putting yourself in harm's way like that isn't going to get you back to Earth, Lars."

The human sneered at the fusion, but nonetheless nodded to her in compliance, and she set him down on the ground. He folded his arms in frustration like a child having a tantrum, and looked away at the Off Colors to be alone with his thoughts. Rhodonite looked at the Rutile twins and shook her head, not knowing what to do with him, let alone Aquamarine.

"Let's just see what she does for now—she's probably looking for us," the twins said, peeking from the side of the rock.

The little Aquamarine fluttered around the cavern with her watery wings, observing each and every nook and cranny of the area with a look of pure disdain on her face. She reached for the little bow on the top of her head and swished it like a whip. In an instant the flimsy ribbon turned into a solid stick, kind of like a magic wand fairies in storybooks wield and use to do good deeds and make dreams come true. But in Aquamarine's case, the Off Colors knew she wasn't intending to use her wand for good, and that she was arguably their biggest nightmare yet.

"To think this is the thanks I get for delivering Rose Quartz herself to the Diamonds' doorstep," she said. "An Aquamarine on 'off-color extermination duty'… It's unheard of."

She pointed the wand at a relatively large rock that was off in the distance. From the tip of the wand a beam of blue light fired and surrounded the rock, and Aquamarine lifted the massive thing up from ground like it was feather. With a flick of her wrist the blue beam disappeared, and the rock fell to the ground.

"Grr, I shouldn't be here!" Aquamarine yelled. "I should be up there…by the side of my Diamond…not wasting my time hunting down a couple of lost causes! Hey, Topaz! Get over here!"

From the dark depths of the cavern, a massive, yellow-skinned being emerged before Aquamarine. The little blue Gem sneered at the giant being, flew up to her big, square face, tightened her grip on her wand, and struck the yellow being right across the face with it.

The being didn't flinch or budge a single inch.

"This is _your_ fault, Topaz!" Aquamarine yelled. "You should be grateful I didn't tell them what you did on the ship. Trust me, I would've told them everything if I knew I'd end up down here hunting off colors beforehand."

Topaz didn't respond. Aquamarine raised her wand and struck the giant yellow Gem across the face once more.

"I'll tell you want, though," she said. "The moment you see one of those freaks, bring them to _me_. I already got some practice in with that abomination from earlier… Can you believe it, Topaz? **A fusion consisting of SIX Gems…** How something like that's allowed on our home, I'll never know."

The Rutile twins gasped in shocked at what the villainous elite Gem just said. Rhodonite's eyes widened, and as if a fire was set alight in her belly, she gritted her teeth and sprung right up from the floor, as if she was about to run up to Topaz and Aquamarine and poof them herself. But she was stopped by none other than Lars, who seized her by one of her four arms, and shook her head at her in disapproval. Rhodonite took Lars' reaction into account, and sat back down behind the rock.

"But like all things, that freak's fate's for the Diamonds to decide, not me," Aquamarine said. "You _did_ send its gems topside, right?"

Topaz nodded.

"Good!" the little Gem said gleefully. "Now come along—I want to see if I can knock one of them out cold with just one blow this time."

And with that the little winged Gem and her giant yellow counterpart disappeared back into the depths of the cave, and human and his off color friends emerged from behind the rock. The Rutile twins covered each other's mouths in astonishment. And while it took her a lot of effort, but Rhodonite managed stifle a yell, content with hitting the ground repeatedly with her four hands, while Lars looked at the scene in confusion.

"You've got to be kidding me," Rhodonite said. "Not only an Aquamarine…but a Topaz, as well!?"

"Something's not right here—there's no way they'd send Gems of that caliber down here," the twins exclaimed. "And they've already gotten Fluorite—and they've sent her gems up…up there."

"They've poofed Fluorite and sent her to the Diamonds!" Padparadscha blurted out. "We've got to do something!"

"Hush!" Rhodonite said sternly. "You want to make their jobs easier?"

Rhodonite walked up to Lars and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"What did you and your friend do?" Rhodonite asked. "What did you two do that caused the Diamonds to send elites like them down to hunt us!?"

"H-How should I know!?" Lars asked. "I never bothered to ask him about this stuff! I've no idea what these alien chicks have against him! …B-But wait! She said something about 'Rose Quartz,' right?"

"Yeah, she did. So?" Rhodonite asked.

"W-Well… I think that's why these diamond chicks sent them down here."

Rhodonite dropped Lars to the floor. The twins of Rutile gasped in astonishment. Padparadscha absentmindedly smiled at the scene as if nothing was wrong.

"…What are you saying, Lars?" the fusion asked.

"I don't think they sent them here just to hunt you guys down… No. I think they're here for _him_."

"Huh?—But…why?" the twins asked.

"I don't know," Lars said, "but I think it may be because—"

" **They think Steven is Rose Quartz.** "

The pink-skinned Lars and the Off Colors turned to Padparadscha, who was looking at her companions with a stern frown on her face.

"That's why they're here," she said, "and they won't leave until they find him."


	4. Potential Impasse

The Off Colors astonishment at the conclusion Padparadscha came to was enough to leave them completely speechless. To think the Diamonds have been led to believe Steven Universe is the late leader of the Gem Rebellion…it was something so shocking to Lars' newfound friends that mere words couldn't begin to describe what they were feeling.

"This… T-This has to be some sort of j-joke, right?" Rhodonite said, stumbling over her words a little bit. "Why would the Diamonds think your friend is Rose Quartz?"

"Now that I'm looking back…he _did_ have a gem, didn't he?—He did say he was 'half-Gem,' if I remember correctly," the twins said to each other.

"Half-Gem?" Rhodonite asked. "How does that even— Ugh, whatever! 'Half-Gem' or not, that still doesn't make sense for the Diamonds to think he's Rose Quartz!"

"But what're we supposed to about those elite Gems? They're not going to leave until they find him—and even if he _was_ Rose Quartz, he isn't even here!"

"UGH!" Rhodonite yelled. "Why!? Of all the things to happen to us, why something like this!?"

The fusion fell to the ground in despair.

"All Ruby and Pearl wanted was to be happy," she said, "but instead they get caught up in all this…this insanity! And do you know… Do you know what the saddest thing about it is?"

The twins looked at each other curiously.

"This is happening to them…because of _me_ ," Rhodonite said. "If they had never fused, their Morganite would've never disowned them, and they would've never had to run away… Run away in… f-fear of getting…"

She looked at her four hands, and noticed each of them were trembling without any semblance of stopping. She turned towards her fellow Off Colors, and got up from the floor.

"Do you really want to know why I'm always on edge?" Rhodonite asked. "Because I'm always thinking about what would happen if they ever found us," she said. "It's been thousands of years, but it still scares me, the day their Morganite found out about me. That awful look in her eyes… It's been so long since she gave me that look, but whenever I close my eyes, and whenever I'm alone with my thoughts…I can still see it. It was just so full of…hatred…and disappointment, and…and fear. She…f-feared me… She feared me because I was something that should've never came into existence. And you know what? _**…I've come to agree with her**_ _._ "

The twins gasped in shock, while Padparadscha remained silent, but still had a forlorn look on her face.

"That isn't the answer, Rhodonite—you know that," the twins assured.

The fusion gritted her teeth and pushed the twins to the ground.

"Don't act like you've never thought the same way!" the fusion exclaimed. "That's how that Aquamarine and that Topaz thinks of us… That's how everybody up there thinks of us…"

"So that means we should think the same way?—What happened to not caring about what others think at all?" the twins asked, getting up from the floor. "We can't just give up, Rhodonite—thousands of years on the run, and you're going to let them get inside your head _now_?"

"I know, but…we have no choice."

Lars walked up to Rhodonite and placed his pink hand on the fusion's shoulder.

"Yes, we do," he said.

"Stay out of this! This isn't about you!"

"I don't care. I'm not going to just sit back and watch up give up like this! Especially not after the trouble I went through to keep those Robonoid things from killing all of you!"

Lars took another look at his bright pink hand, and then gave his tuft of pink hair a little pat.

"As far as I'm concerned, what he's done to me…what I've become…can't be reversed," he said. "I got this way saving you guys from those machines. I got this way taking action against the ones who tried to hurt us, instead of cowering in a corner and shaking in fear. I got this way…because I refused to just stand back and let those giant bitches have their way with you guys! I might not be a magic alien, but I am willing to fight And do you know why? **...Because I'm an off color, too.** "

Rhodonite sneered at Lars.

"No," Rhodonite said, "you're not."

Lars' eyes widened.

"You may have saved us back there, but look at the 'thanks' you got," she said. "Stuck in a form you don't even understand. Stuck on a planet you know nothing about, while he gets to go back home. Stuck with a bunch of miserable 'magic aliens' hiding from the ones who hate them, while he gets to be among the ones who love him."

The fusion backed away from him, not breaking eye contact for a single moment.

"And you really think you're prepared to fight?" she asked. "You're a _human_ , Lars. You have no idea what the Diamonds are capable of, Lars, let alone that Aquamarine and Topaz. And yet you have the gall to say you're willing to fight…"

Rhodonite walked up to Padparadscha and took hold of her hand once more.

"You can go ahead and fight those two if you want," Rhodonite said, "but we're going to steer clear of them. It may be cowardly, sure…but at least it's kept up alive. Come on, Rutile."

"Huh?—But…what about Fluorite?" the twins asked.

"You heard Aquamarine. She's... She's gone."

And the fusion and the little Gem walked off into the distance. The Twins of Rutile looked at each other, then looked at Lars, who didn't have anything to say.

"She's just letting her worries get the better of her again—please don't take wrongly of her for this," they said. "We'll come back for you—we promise."

And with that, the twins followed Rhodonite and Padparadscha into the distance, leaving Lars completely alone in the massive cavern. It's been a long time since Lars has ever been alone like this, but at least he was back on Earth during that time. But this time, Lars was left alone on a planet he knew nothing about. He didn't know anything about Homeworld's laws or customs, or who to go to that would genuinely help him. Lars was at a complete and utter standstill, and that terrified him. He just stood frozen in place, for the fear of being on his own in deep, dark cavern with no hope of escaping was more than enough to have him quaking in his boots.

But there was one thing that was enough to keep him company. There was one thing that was enough to make him realize that, in a way, he wasn't alone…

For off in the distance, he heard Padparadscha say…

" **But I don't want Lars to go away.** "


	5. No Way Out

Thanks to the Off Colors' advice, Lars knew he couldn't stay where he was for too long, so he managed to muster up the courage to keep moving and try and find somewhere else to go. Unfortunately, Lars had absolutely no idea _where_ to go in the giant Kindergarten. The labyrinthine network of caves and tunnels spanned virtually all of Homeworld; it would take millennia for Lars to map out the entire area, and that's time Lars just didn't have, pink-skinned or not. He walked along the vast yet dark and depressing landscape, looking in awe at the countless holes that studded the Kindergarten's towering walls.

He looked up above him, and he saw the cleaner, futuristic buildings that made up the surface of the Gem Homeworld…

And then he looked back down at the copious amounts of dirt, dust and debris he was standing in.

But just as he was about to let out his frustrations, that's when Lars heard a huge banging sound from behind him. He turned around and saw there was a huge crack in the towering stone wall. Lars shook in fear and covered his ears as the banging got louder and the crack got larger. Suddenly the wall burst in a flash of dirt, dust, and rubble, and Lars was knocked to the ground. He groaned as he got up from the floor and saw that the massive wall now had a massive hole in it. And from the massive hole emerged the massive, yellow Gem that was Topaz, who was armed with her terrifying double-ended club.

Lars yelped in terror, but nonetheless held his ground.

Topaz walked out of the hole and stomped closer and closer to Lars, yet he still held his ground.

She lifted her club above her stocky head, yet he still held his ground.

And right when she was about to strike Lars down like he was nothing, he managed to blurt out...

" **Don't you remember me!?** "

Topaz stopped in her tracks, and took a closer look at the little human. It took her a while...but once she finally realized who she came across, she dropped her weapon immediately.

"You're... You're Rose Quartz's friend," she said, smiling.

She hoisted Lars off the ground and gave him a big hug. Lars, albeit reluctantly, hugged her back.

"Why're you… _pink_?" Topaz asked.

"It's a long story," Lars said, "but there's no time for that now. I need your help."

Topaz's wide smile turned into a frown, and she gently put Lars back on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Lars," she said, "but…there's nothing I can do for you."

"What?" Lars asked. "Why?"

"I'm on another mission with Aquamarine, and she's still mad at me for what I did back on the ship."

Lars gave his temples a quick rub as he groaned in frustration.

"She's an entitled brat with wings," Lars said in an annoyed tone. "Why're you so afraid of her?"

"It's not her I'm afraid of," the fusion said, "it's…it's the Diamonds I'm afraid of."

She looked around the area to see if the little blue Gem was fluttering around. Relieved that the coast is clear, she sat down next to Lars and held her head in her hands.

"She said she'd tell them what I did on the ship if ever I stepped out of line again," she said. "I'd be happy to help you, Lars, but I can't take that sort of risk again."

"So you're just going to let her slap you around some more?" Lars asked. "You realize even after this she isn't going let you off the hook, right?"

She looked at Topaz curiously.

"How do you mean?" Topaz asked.

"How do I mean? She's _blackmailing_ you," Lars said. "She's going to hang this over you forever, Topaz, because she knows you're scared to death of what the Diamonds will do to you if they ever find out what you did. She's always going to threaten you with that to get you to do something you don't want to do. And considering you guys can live for thousands of years, unless you decide to stand up to her now, from here on in… **you're Aquamarine's bitch**."

Topaz rubbed her chin.

"I suppose that means I'm her slave?" Topaz asked.

 _Among other things_ , Lars thought whilst nodding to Topaz in agreement.

Topaz nodded, and got up from the floor.

"I understand," she said. "But still, it isn't like I can just drop everything to help you. The Diamonds sent us down here to find Rose Quartz."

"Then your diamond leaders are going to be very disappointed," Lars said, "because he isn't here. Not down here, not even on this planet. He's back on Earth."

"What? But how? There're no ships or escape pods down here...are they?"

"No, I doubt there are, but he did have _this_."

He pointed at his hair.

"...What does that bush on your head have to do with anything?" Topaz asked.

"Well, I don't know all that much, but I'll try," Lars said, clearing his throat. "See, it all started when-"

But before Lars could bore Topaz with his lengthy and confusing story, a massive boulder struck the giant yellow Gem right on the back of her head! Topaz toppled like a domino onto the floor instantly, leaving Lars both astonished and confused. But that's when he heard giggling...giggling that belonged to a being he knew all too well. From the hole in the wall Topaz smashed through, a tiny little Gem with watery wings flew into the cavern, and pointed her wand directly at Lars.

"A-Aquamarine?" Lars asked.

"Oh, would you look at that," Aquamarine said, giggling. " _I knocked her out with one blow._ "


	6. Droplet to Hurricane

Lars looked Aquamarine dead in her soulless little eyes, but showed no signs of fear or intimidation whatsoever. He balled his hands up into fists, and gave the tiny Gem a quick scowl. The Gem gave a wide, plastic smile as she flew closer towards him, her wand still perfectly trained on him.

"Tried to start another revolt against me, huh?" she asked. "Rose Quartz taught you well… **Lars**."

Lars didn't respond. Aquamarine flew closer.

"That's right—I know who you are," Aquamarine said. "Like I said back on Earth, my memory is _perfect_."

Lars gritted his teeth and went in for a punch, aiming right at Aquamarine's face. The Gem simply flew aside and dodged Lars' attack, and the human fell to the floor. Aquamarine let out another condescending giggle.

"You thought I'd fall for that?" Aquamarine asked, pointing at Topaz's unconscious body. "Remember, human—you're dealing with more than some slow-witted soldier now."

"Y-You think I'm afraid of you?" Lars asked, getting up from the ground and balling his hands up into fists again.

The little Gem pointed her wand back at him. He flinched, but was still ready to lunge at her again.

"Of course you're afraid of me," she said. "You were afraid of me back on Earth. Why wouldn't you be now?"

She gave her chin a small rub.

"But now that I'm taking a closer look at you," she said, "I don't remember you being so... _pink_. I take it Rose Quartz worked some of her magic on you or something?"

Lars took a look at his pink hands.

"Well, you do look kind of cute, to be honest," she said. "But make no mistake, for I _fully_ intend to hurt you..."

"Really? A-And why's that?" Lars asked, slightly chuckling. "Still mad they sent you down here to hunt off colors?"

Aquamarine's eyes widened at this remark, and she fired a beam from the end of her wand straight at Lars. Lars didn't have time to react at all, for in an instant he was engulfed in a light that was as blue and bright as Aquamarine's skin. The little Gem sneered at the immobile Lars, and with her wand she lifted him up from the ground and into the air. She swung her weapon and released her hold on Lars, and the poor human was sent flying right into a solid stone wall.

He hit the wall hard, and fell to the dirty ground just as hard...but unlike last time, this didn't kill him. It hurt, of course, but Lars was able to get right back up, and face the horrid little Gem again, this time as fierce as ever. He noticed something different about Aquamarine: Her eyes were starting to twitch.

"W-What's wrong?" Lars said, cracking a little smile. "Did I strike a nerve?"

"Shut up!" she exclaimed, training her wand back on him. "They stuck me here because of you and Rose Quartz!"

Her grip on her wand started to tighten.

"Me, an Aquamarine, forced down in the dumps this horrid Kindergarten," she said. "Me, an Aquamarine...forced to waste my one-of-a-kind talents on hunting down these good-for-nothing off-color abominations!"

Her eyes started to twitch again.

"Taking my anger out on them is obviously a good way to get myself shattered," she said. "So I'm going to go after Rose Quartz herself. And when I find her...I'm going to make her pay. So, unless you want to be used to create another hole in the wall..."

She smiled a wide smile, this time far less friendly and inviting than the last one.

" **Tell me where she is.** "

Lars started to snicker, then he eventually burst into laughter. Aquamarine raised an eyebrow at the pink-skinned human in confusion.

"What's so funny?" Aquamarine asked.

"'Rose Quartz' is back on Earth, you dumb bitch!" Lars exclaimed. "'She' left hours ago!"

The little Gem's eyes started to twitch even more.

"What?" she asked. "No... N-No! T-That's not possible!"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Of course I am! There're no escape pods down here for her to use, and even if there were, there's no way she could've made it back to Earth already!"

"Heh-heh—looks like there's a lot you don't know about 'her.'"

The little Gem fired her beam at another rock, and swung it straight at Lars. Lars managed to dodge the projectile successfully, and the stone crumbled to pieces as it hit the nearby wall. Aquamarine gritted her teeth and pointed her wand at Lars once again.

"Don't test me," she said. "I could turn your entire world upside-down, human."

Lars snickered again.

"You know, now that I'm thinking about it," Lars said, "you're actually pretty...pathetic."

"I-Is that so?"

"Of course it's so. I mean, come on... Do you _seriously_ believe you're actually a threat? Because you aren't."

"W-What? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Yeah, I do..."

Lars smirked.

"A little brat who's too big for her britches," he said, "and can't stand the fact there's nothing she can do about 'Rose Quartz.'"

Her eyes started twitching even more, and she wound up growling and yelling out...

" **ENOUGH!** "

Her shrill voice surprisingly cause an echo throughout the cavern, and actually managed to startle Lars.

She fired the beam from her wand at another nearby bolder, and positioned above not Lars...but _Topaz_. All of a sudden Lars lost his cocky attitude, and quickly re-realized the reality of the situation he was in. Aquamarine noticed the smirk on the pink-skinned human's face disappear and the fire in his eyes dim to nothing but a spark, and gave out a soft giggle of satisfaction.

"Now, let's get down to business... _for real this time_ ," she said menacingly.


	7. Lars' Decision

"Either tell me where Rose Quartz is, or watch this traitor get crushed flat," Aquamarine said. "The choice is yours."

The light from her wand wrapping around the boulder was the only thing keeping the giant stone from landing right on top of Topaz, who was still unconscious and beyond anybody's help. Lars looked at the knocked out Gem, then back at Aquamarine, whose eyes were twitching more frequently than before. That's how Lars knew she was beginning to lose her grip on the remaining sanity she had left. Her tiny mouth widened into a big, toothy grimace of a smile, and started cackling again, this time at a softer, subtler, yet no less menacing tone. Unsurprisingly, this was starting to frighten Lars, to the point where he was thinking of just running for it and leaving Topaz for dead.

But luckily for Topaz, Lars knew he had to no something about Aquamarine. A Gem as prejudiced towards off-colors as Aquamarine couldn't be left to her own devices, and Lars understood that something had to be done about her before it's too late. What exactly _could_ be done about her, however, was something Lars was still mulling over. At first he was having fun toying with her and playing with her emotions, but as he was looking at her now, Lars realized she was getting horribly desperate. The little Gem could only take so much humiliation and ridicule, and it was obvious she was finally at her limit.

"You've got to be kidding me, Aquamarine," he said. "You're _that_ obsessed with Rose Quartz that you'd harm your own partner?"

She gave out yet another horrible cackle.

"Spare me the 'everyone is equal' spiel, human," she said. "Topaz isn't my 'partner'...she's my _tool_. A tool given to me by the Diamonds to use until the day she breaks."

Aquamarine started to eyeball Topaz's unconscious body on the cold, hard, dirty floor.

"That's all these fusions are," she said. "Tools designed to do whatever they're told...and to never, _ever_ think about turning on their masters, let alone think at all. I would've told the Diamonds what she did if I'd known _this_ is where they'd send me."

"How in the heck can you be so...cold?" Lars asked sentimentally.

" **BECAUSE I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU THINK!** " the little Gem yelled, so loud it echoed throughout the entire cave. "Now tell me where Rose Quartz is, or else!"

Lars looked down at the poor Topaz, and then back at the hot-headed Aquamarine, and took the time to mull over what he should do. He was starting to realize just how big of a mistake it would be to give Steven's location away to the horrid elite Gem; sure, Steven may be light-years away from Homeworld, but it's unlikely something like that's going to stop Aquamarine-let alone the Diamonds-from going after him. And then Lars started thinking about what Aquamarine would do to Steven once she got a hold of him; Topaz would be simply poofed and broken to pieces, and that would be the end of her. But Aquamarine wouldn't let him go just like that. No, she would most likely make the poor half-Gem suffer...she'd make him pay for everything he done to Homeworld, despite the fact he hasn't really done anything to Homeworld at all.

Lars imagined Steven yelling out in agony, crying for help, and wishing Aquamarine would kill him and finally end his suffering. But then Lars imaged Aquamarine just cackling in Steven's face every time he let out a desperate plea for release. This was beginning to disturb Lars; he didn't want to wish such a monstrous fate upon someone like Steven. But then again, he didn't want to wish a fate like being crushed by a giant stone upon Topaz. But alas, Lars was ready to decide. Which is why Lars put a stop to his imagining, let out a huge breath, balled up his bright pink fists, looked Aquamarine straight in the eye and said...

" **Hell no.** "

The Gem's eyes started to twitch again.

"...What was that?" she asked. "I... I believe I misheard you."

"I said 'hell no,' you deaf bitch!" Lars said, even more confident than before. "As messed up as this sounds, I'd rather shatter Topaz myself. And do you want to know why? Because I consider having to be around the likes of you every day for thousands of years to be fate _far_ worse than death."

"...I-Is... Is that s-so?"

" _Yes_ , it is. And the sad thing is, if she were up right now, Topaz would likely agree with me. Back on the ship, 'Rose' and I earned her respect, because we showed her something that neither you nor those crazy Diamond women nor any of the other elitist Gems on this hellhole of a planet are capable of showing her: _understanding_."

"..."

"Topaz betrayed you because you couldn't understand her. And that's the exact reason why the Topaz after her will more than likely betray you, too...because you don't know how to care about anybody other than yourself."

Aquamarine's eyes twitched more than they ever twitched before, and she held her head with her free hand in agony and despair and what she was hearing. She was muttering and mumbling gibberish to herself, and starting looking around the room erratically. Her grip on her wand was getting tighter and tighter, but the beam emitting out of the weapon's end was still strong, keeping the boulder firmly in place above Topaz. but Lars was starting to get worried. He noticed something change in Aquamarine. She was still mumbling and shaking and holding her head, to the point where it looked like she was about to explode...but that's when she stopped all that. Instantly. Which made Lars all the more nervous.

She looked at Lars, and the human noticed a drastic change: the whites of the little Gem's eyes were slowly turning bloodshot, and her pupils were empty-looking, and shrunken to a point.

"Good speech, Lars," Aquamarine said, her voice cracking at points. "Overtly platitudinous and completely ineffective...but very good, nonetheless. But guess what, little human? **IT WON'T SAVE YOUR FUSION FRIEND!** "

Aquamarine pulled back her wand, and the beam of light surrounding the huge boulder, and the stone began plummeting down to the ground. Lars yelled in anger and horror, but knew there was nothing he could've done to save Topaz from her fate, and closed his eyes and plugged his ears, to save himself at least some of the torment of his decision. But little did Lars know-since he could neither see nor hear anything-that right there, at the bottom of the Kindergarten of Homeworld, a miracle of sorts occurred.

For right as he boulder was about to crush Topaz as flat as a pancake...the rock was swatted away from above the unconscious yellow fusion, and was sent hurtling towards Aqumarine! Naturally, the little Gem flew out of the way, and the hard rock collided with an even harder wall, and it shattered into hundreds of harmless little pieces instantly. Aquamarine, completely astonished at what just happened, looked back at Topaz, and saw something that she thought she dealt with hours ago...

It was Fluorite, picking Topaz up from the ground and holding her close, intending to keep her safe from any further harm.

Lars opened his eyes and unplugged his ears, and he saw the huge Fluorite right in front of him. His mouth curled into a wide smile and he ran up to Topaz and gave her a hug, and the fusion hugged him back. But their reunion was cut quite short, as Aquamarine was busy yelling out in anger at the countless impossibilities that were unfolding before her.

"WHAT!?" Aquamarine exclaimed. "Y-You... You're not supposed to be here... YOU FILTHY OFF-COLOR! YOU DAMNED MONSTER!"

"You're the only monster here," Fluorite said. "What kind of Gem would do that to their own comrade?"

"SHUT UP! I'll break you, you hear me!? **I'LL BREAK YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS! I'LL HUNT THEM ALL DOWN, BREAK THEM ONE-BY-ONE, AND I'LL MAKE YOU WATCH BEFORE I DO THE SAME TO YOU!** Then... Then Diamonds will love me again... I-I can be by their side again... Heh, heh, heh, heh... HAHAHAHAHA! BAAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Fluorite shook her head in shame.

"Your obsession's driven you mad, little one," Fluorite said somberly. "Sad...yet oddly satisfying."

"I said... **SHUT THE HELL UP**!"

Aquamarine pointed her wand directly at Fluorite, fired her beam at the giant fusion, and stopped her right in her tracks!

...Well, Aquamarine would have done that, if she actually had her wand in her hands anymore.

"H-Huh?" she said. "W-Where... W-Where is-"

"Looking for this?"

Aquamarine turned around...

And in an instant she was enveloped in a bright blue light.


	8. Pink, the Color of Hope (END)

Rhodonite, Padparadscha, and the Twins of Rutile were wandering along the bottom of the Kindergarten, but ever since they left Lars for dead, nobody had anything to say about anything. Rhodonite led the group through the maze of a Kingdergarten, holding Padparadscha by her hand the entire time, just in case she ran off somewhere. The twins were too ashamed of Rhodonite's actions from earlier to try and get through to her anymore, so they didn't have anything of significance to say. They would occasionally look at each other, then back at Rhodonite and Padparadscha as the former would cover up the latter's mouth whenever she was about to utter something out loud, but that was about it. It was an awkward time for everybody involved, to be sure, but considering they've been doing this sort of thing for tens upon thousands of years, it's likely they've gotten used to it by now.

But it wasn't long until one of the Rutile twins decided to break the silence, and with a slight clearing of her throat and a tap of Rhodonite's shoulder, the twin went on to say…

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

Rhodonite heard her, but didn't bother to acknowledge her. She just kept on walking with Padparadscha's hand firmly in her grip. While she saw this coming, the Rutile twin simply cleared her throat and tapped the fusion's shoulder again, but this time she asked…

"Why're you acting like what happened back there didn't happen?"

And it looked like this was the straw that broke the camel's back, as Rhobonite let go of Padparadscha's hand and turned to the Rutile twins, and gave the conjoined Gems a nasty smirk.

"I don't want to hear it anymore," she said. "Just go back and join him if you care that much about him!"

The twins exchanged glances.

"Fine," one of them said, "but you're coming with us!"

They grabbed Rhodonite by the arms and started to pull on them. The fusion effortlessly took her limbs back, and in retaliation pushed the twins to the ground.

"Now isn't the time for your stupid games!" she yelled.

"We weren't playing a game—we're trying to get you to understand," the twins said. "How can you just have no remorse for what you did back there?—He knows nothing about this world, and you just left him alone?"

"I don't care! Whatever he has against that Aquamarine doesn't have anything to do with us, and I refuse to let the ones I care about get caught up in something like that. And besides, you're forgetting something: **HE** is the reason that Aquamarine and Topaz are down here in the first place."

"Well, yeah... But so what?—How was he supposed to know about the grudge the Diamonds have against Rose Quartz?"

"I-I don't know, but I don't care. Now come on—we've got to move."

"No, Rhodonite!" the twins yelled in unison. "We're _not_ moving!"

Rhodonite raised an eyebrow in confusion. The twins gave her a rude-looking glare.

"All this aimless wandering and running away—we're tired of it, Rhodonite, us and probably even Padparadscha," the twins said solemnly. "We've been doing this same routine every single day for millennia—but it can't go on like this forever. Like it or not, someday they _will_ find us—and they _will_ corner us. And when that day comes there'll nowhere left for us to run—so tell us, Rhodonite...what would you do then?"

The fusion looked at the twins in disdain, but then her gaze turn to that of sorrow.

"I... I don't know," she said.

But then her look or sorrow turned into a glare of confidence.

"But what I _do_ know is this: I've known you two and Padparadscha for over five-thousand years," she said. "We've only known this human and that 'half-Gem' friend of his for a mere five _hours_. You really expect me to care more about him than I do about all of you?"

The twins looked at each other, pondering Rhodonite words. They didn't want to believe them, but the more they thought about it, the more they realized what she was correct. After all, why should any of them, let alone one of them, be so concerned about the well-being of a person they've only known for such a short amount of time? A complete stranger who came out of nowhere compared to people they've known for thousands of years... It was harsh, yes, but Rhodonite was most definitely speaking the truth. The twins looked down at the ground in sorrow at the revelation of this. The fusion placed two of her hands on their shoulders, and the other two under their chins to lift their heads back up.

"It's not happening, Rutile," she said. "Now, let's go."

They swatted Rhodonite off of them.

"No," they said in unison.

The fusion scoffed.

"Then forget it," she said. "Come on, Padparadscha. ...Padparadscha?"

As usual, the little Gem couldn't stay put and was wandering around again. Thankfully, she didn't get far this time, and was only a mere yard or two away from the Off-Colors. Rhodonite and the twins walked up to Padparadscha, not surprised at her behavior...but surprised that she was apparently... _crying_.

"Padparadscha? What's...wrong?" Rhodonite asked.

"Our... Our friends," the little Gem said, tears running down her cheeks. "Our friends are okay, and they're coming this way!"

From out in the distance the Off Colors saw the giant fusion Fluorite arise from the horizon. The glum looks on Rhodonite and the Rutile twins' faces suddenly turned to looks of joy, and they ran up to Fluorite and gave her a huge hug. Of course, it took Padparadscha awhile to react, but he eventually ran up to Fluorite, and gave her a hug, as well.

"B-But...how?" Rhodonite asked.

Fluorite giggled.

"Ask her," Fluorite said.

They directed their attention behind Fluorite, and from the horizon rose the large, yellow Gem that was Topaz, who waved weakly at the surprised Off Colors. Rhodonite let go of Fluorite, grabbed the twins and Padparadscha, and shoved them all behind the huge fusion in fear.

"W-What is _she_ doing here!?" Rhodonite asked.

"She's the reason I'm here," Fluorite said. "Go on—tell them."

Topaz scratched her head in timidness, then cleared her throat.

"When I cornered Fluorite and poofed her, I didn't send her Gems up to the surface," she said. "I bubbled them and hid them away in an alcove, far from where Aquamarine could see me. When the time was right and I was far away from Aquamarine, I hurried back to the alcove and released the Gems...and from there, the six Gems that made up Fluorite reformed, and they fused back right before my eyes."

The Off Colors looked at Topaz curiously.

"I was honestly a rather beautiful sight to behold," Topaz said, looking up at Fluorite. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," Fluorite said.

"Well, what about Aquamarine?" Rhodonite asked. "Where is she?"

"Right here."

Lars-in all his pink glory-arose from the horizon, surprising Rhodonite and the other Off-Colors. But what surprised them the most wasn't Lars himself...but what Lars had along with him. In his hand he held the wand of Aquamarine, and trapped within the bright, confining light of the wand was Aquamarine herself, completely immobile and completely harmless. Everybody was amazed at what they were seeing, to the point where they couldn't believe it.

"B-But...how?" Rhodonite asked.

"Like I said," Lars said, smirking, "she's just a brat with wings."

"LARS IS BACK!" Padparadscha blurted out as she ran up to Lars and jumped in his arms.

Lars chuckled and hugged the little Gem back with his free hand, glad to be back with his friends. Rhodonite, on the other hand, rolled her eyes.

"Well...I guess you were right," she said. "She really wasn't a threat to us, after all."

"But what're we supposed to do about her now?—If we let her go, she's just going to fly away and tell the Diamonds what happened," the twins said to each other. "But we can't just carry her around like this for the next five-thousand years—that's true...especially since that look on her face is starting to creep me out."

"Maybe we can...'persuade' her to keep her trap shut," Rhodonite said, cracking her knuckles.

"P-Perhaps we can come up with something a little less violent?—Beating people up are what soldiers are for, not Rutiles...no offense, Topaz."

"It's fine...," Topaz said. "But whatever you guys are going to do, you may want to do it fast. The Diamonds are likely wondering where Aquamarine and I are..."

The group were pondering what they should do about the pesky little Gem, when suddenly Rhodonite said...

"I say we let Lars decide her fate."

Lars raised an eyebrow.

"H-Huh?" he asked. "But why?"

"Getting threatened and insulted by Gems as high-ranking as her is something we've gotten pretty used to," Rhodonite said. "We're not surprised she hates us and she wants to break us...but we don't care to think the same way about her. Sure, she despises everything about off-colors...but I'd rather not we end up becoming just as hateful towards non-off-colors."

"We'd be no better than the ones up there—and every other off-color down here would be ashamed of us," the twins said.

"And besides, you're the one who captured her," Fluorite said. "It's only fair that the choice is yours."

Lars, albeit reluctantly, agreed with his comrades, and with a flick of the wand he released Aquamarine from the grasp of the light, and she feel to the dirty ground. She began to cough as her colliding with the ground kicked up piles of dirt and dust.

"U-Ugh... What happened?" Aquamarine asked.

"Shut up," Lars said.

"Huh? You? What're you—," she failed to finished, as she noticed her wand in Lars' hand. "What the? How did you get my wand!?"

"I said shut up!" he exclaimed, pointing the wand straight at the blue Gem's face. "Or else I'll freeze you again!"

The little Gem wasn't fazed, and instead let out a usual condescending giggle.

"What? Now you've got my wand, you're suddenly full of courage?" Aquamarine asked. "I mean, come on, Lars; what could you possibly do to me? Seriously, what could you do? Poof and bubble me away? _Shatter_ me? Heh, heh... Give me a break."

Lars started to sweat.

"You really believe it'll all be over once I'm gone, don't you?" she asked. "Well, I suggest you get real, you stupid human, because it'll never, _ever_ be over."

Nobody, not even Topaz, responded.

"As much as I hate to say it, I'm expendable, too," Aquamarine said. "If anything were to happen to me, the Diamonds would replace me without a second thought, too. But here's what makes me Topaz and I different in the way of that: unlike that dimwitted brute, Aquamarines are high-ranking Gems. Gems with status! Gems who've earned the respect of a lot of other Gems, including the Diamonds! If I disappear, Gems are going to wonder what happened to me. And do you know who they'll put the blame on, Lars? **You and that little freak-show behind you.** "

She pointed at the Off Colors, who were just glaring at her in disgust.

"And do you know what they'll do?" Aquamarine said. "They'll send more Gems down here to hunt them! And don't think it'll just be another Aquamarine and Topaz... No, they'd likely send far more powerful ones to get the job done quicker. Obsidians... Pyrites... Bloodstones... Powerful Gems that would level this entire Kindergarten to accomplish their mission. Do you really wish to unleash such monsters upon your newfound friends, Lars?"

Lars started to ponder her words, and began lowering the wand.

"Do you understand now, Lars?" Aquamarine asked the conflicted human. "No matter what you choose to do to me, it'll result in these _things_ paying for it."

Her insult was enough to make Lars point the wand at her again, but it wasn't enough to wipe the cocky grin off the despicable Gem's face.

"They are **NOT** 'things'!" Lars yelled. "They're Gems, just like you!"

Aquamarine let out a loud cackle.

"You may think that," she said, pointing at the cavern's ceiling, "but nobody up there does. Your opinion of them means nothing to me nor anybody else on this planet. You, Rose Quartz, and Topaz may see them as Gems..."

She stood up, sprouted her watery wings, and rose from the dirty ground. She started floating higher and higher into the air, but Lars still had the wand trained on her, ready to freeze her in place at any moment.

"But to us, they're _off-colors_ ," she said, stifling another giggle. "Useless little things that don't deserve to be here! Ugly wastes of space! Complete and utter MISTAKES! ACCIDENTS! **MONSTERS THAT DESERVE TO BE SHATTERED TO PIECES! IF I WERE A DIAMOND I'D SHATTER ALL OF YOU MYSELF! YOU HEAR ME!? BE GLAD I'M NOT A DIAMOND, YOU FREAKS, BECAUSE I'D** —"

But before she could complete her breakdown, Fluorite used the opportunity to take one of her hands and effortlessly swat Aquamarine out of the sky, as if she was nothing more than a pesky fly. Aquamarine's tiny body exploded with a puff of blue, sparkly smoke the moment she landed on the ground, and she hit the ground so hard she created a small but deep crater, and right in the center of it was what remained of Aquamarine:

An insignificant, teardrop-shaped gem, which Lars promptly picked up.

Lars, Topaz, and the Off Colors all stared at the little teardrop, and were genuinely surprised that, for all her bravado and boasting, that tiny rock was the they were afraid of for so long.

"Forgive me," Fluorite said. "I don't like seeing my friends get insulted."

"So that's all it was, huh?" Rhodonite asked, looking at Aquamarine's gem. "Just a little stone trying too hard to big a big boulder... Honestly I'm a little surprised; to think I've been afraid of Gems like her for so long."

"I feel the same way," Topaz said, also looking at the little Gem. "You've no idea how long I've wanted to do that to her, but I knew the Diamonds would take me out for it. But...what happens now?"

"We could bubble her and hide her away somewhere—that way we'll never have to worry about her again," the twins said.

"That wouldn't do," Topaz said. "The Diamonds would get suspicious eventually."

"Well, it isn't like we can just let her go. She'll tell them everything!"

"Then what are we suppoosed to do about her?—Well, we could...you know..."

"No, we won't. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely want to do that, too, but we can't. We're better than that."

"You know she doesn't deserve such kindness, Rhodonite—she'd never do to same towards us."

"So what, Rutile? How do you expect anything to change by being just like them?"

"They're the ones who started it!—They're the ones who see us as freaks and monsters! Why should we so any of them any kindness!?—When it's doubtful they'd repay it back!?"

"ENOUGH!"

Lars yelled out loud enough that the Gems ceased arguing immediately.

"Remember what you all said earlier? That I was the one who was going to choose what we do to her?" Lars asked. "Well...I've decided."

Lars took one last look at the tiny Gem that was Aquamarine, and then gave the pink tuft of hair on his head a little part.

"You took me away from my world," he said, starting at the gem, "I'll take you away from yours."

As he took a deep breath, Lars thrust that hand he was holding the gem with into his hair, and his limb disappeared into the endless expanse that was the strange dimension that existed within his follicles. He quickly took his hand out...and just like that, Aquamarine's gem was gone. Topaz and the Off Colors were naturally surprised, and yet, they weren't in the least bit fazed at what they just saw.

"I'm sure Steven and his guys can handle her, if she ever winds up finding her way to them," Lars said, holding up Aquamarine's wand. "Knowing him, he'll probably try to befriend her, help her see the 'error of her ways' and all that. Heh... He's a tendency for seeing the good in everybody like that."

Topaz approached Lars, then touched him on the shoulder.

"While I wouldn't get my hopes up," Topaz said, "maybe Aquamarine _does_ still have a chance to change her ways. After all, it looks like you're well on your way to becoming a better person."

Lars smiled.

"Yeah, maybe I am," he said. "But what about you now? These Diamond chicks are going to give you hell."

"Yes...it's likely they're going to shatter me for this," Topaz said. "But if that's how it's going to be, then at least let me do this for you: **I can help you escape Homeworld.** "

Everybody was taken aback at this, but nonetheless paid attention.

"While I was hiding the bubble containing Fluorite's gems away from Aquamarine, I found something pretty interesting," she said. "A ship that belonged to an Emerald, left completely unguarded!"

Rhodonite's eyes widened.

"A-An Emerald?" she said. "Yet another high-ranking Gem, huh...? They're probably looking for it..."

"Which is why I'm going to help you guys use it to get off this planet before they find it!" Topaz said. "I'll set the autopilot for Earth and everything! Just trust me...please."

"...Why're you doing all this for us?" Fluorite asked.

Topaz started to tear up.

" **Because your not off-colors or freaks or monsters or any of those horrible things to me. You're Gems, and I wish to help you free yourselves from the torment this miserable planet's given you for so long.** "

The Off Colors understood the big, yellow Gem, and nodded in agreement that she can help them. Lars smirked, walked up to Topaz, and touched her on the shoulder.

"Lead the way, Topaz," Lars said.

Topaz wiped her tears from her face, and gave the human a confident nod. She walked deeper into the cavern, and the Off Colors followed suit, aiming for their chance to finally escape Homeworld and seek someplace better. Lars looked around one last time and the horrid Kindergarten, then proceeded to follow suit, too...but not before Padparadscha (who was starting into space the entire time) ran up to him and gave him a big hug.

"Welcome back, Lars," Padparadscha said, with another tear running down her face.

"Heh, heh," Lars chuckled, hugging Padparadscha back. "Good to be back."


End file.
